40th Canadian Parliament

40th Parliament of Canada
Minority parliament
18 November 2008 – 26 March 2011
Parliament leaders
Prime
Minister
Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper
6 Feb 2006 – 4 Nov 2015
Cabinet28th Canadian Ministry
Leader of the
Opposition
Hon. Stéphane Dion
December 2, 2006 – December 10, 2008
Hon. Michael Ignatieff
December 10, 2008 – May 2, 2011
Party caucuses
GovernmentConservative Party
OppositionLiberal Party
RecognizedBloc Québécois
New Democratic Party
UnrecognizedProgressive Conservative*
* Only in the Senate.
House of Commons

Seating arrangements of the House of Commons
Speaker of the
Commons
Hon. Peter Milliken
January 29, 2001 – June 2, 2011
Government
House Leader
Hon. Jay Hill
October 3, 2008 – August 6, 2010
Hon. John Baird
August 6, 2010 – May 2, 2011
Opposition
House Leader
Hon. Ralph Goodale
February 10, 2006 – September 10, 2010
David McGuinty
September 10, 2010 – May 26, 2011
Members308 seats MP seats
List of members
Senate

Seating arrangements of the Senate
Speaker of the
Senate
Hon. Noël A. Kinsella
February 8, 2006 – November 26, 2014
Government
Senate Leader
Hon. Marjory LeBreton
February 6, 2006 - July 14, 2013
Opposition
Senate Leader
Hon. Jim Cowan
November 3, 2008 – November 5, 2015
Senators105 seats senator seats
List of senators
Sovereign
MonarchElizabeth II
February 6, 1952 – 8 September 2022
Governor
General
Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean
September 27, 2005 – October 1, 2010
Rt. Hon. David Johnston
October 1, 2010 – October 2, 2017
Sessions
1st session
November 18, 2008 – December 4, 2008
2nd session
January 26, 2009 – December 30, 2009
3rd session
March 3, 2010 – March 26, 2011
← 39th → 41st

The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011. It was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008 federal election held on October 14, 2008. Its first session was then prorogued by the Governor General on December 4, 2008, at the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was facing a likely no-confidence motion and a coalition agreement between the Liberal party and the New Democratic Party with the support of the Bloc Québécois (2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute). Of the 308 MPs elected at the October 14, 2008 general election, 64 were new to Parliament and three sat in Parliaments previous to the 39th: John Duncan, Jack Harris and Roger Pomerleau.

There were three sessions of the 40th Parliament. On March 25, 2011, the House of Commons passed a Liberal motion of non-confidence by a vote of 156 to 145, finding the Conservative Cabinet in contempt of parliament, an unprecedented finding in Canadian and Commonwealth parliamentary history.[1] On March 26, 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper subsequently asked Governor General David Johnston to dissolve parliament and issue a writ of election.[2]

  1. ^ Bruce Cheadle (March 25, 2011). "Harper government topples on contempt motion, triggering May election". The Canadian Press; CTV news. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  2. ^ CBC News (March 25, 2011). "MPs gather for historic vote". CBC. Archived from the original on March 28, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.